G9348712%NMSUVM1.BITNET@MITVMA.MIT.EDU (G a b r i e l) (02/09/90)
First off, thanks to everyone who sent me materials as requested. 8-)
Secondly, one comment (privately e-mailed) about the intended lecture was
that I appeared to be using Kinsey's data (which may be flawed). Not so.
In *Science*, January 20, 1989, there is a report of a later survey, in
which about 3 percent of the population report themselves as being
exclusively homosexual (and active in the past year), but 20 percent of
the population (BTW, the population was male), reported having had at
least one homosexual experience leading to orgasm at some time in the
past. So, perhaps 17 percent of the male population has done both.
(Among college graduates, 31 percent reported having had at least one
homosexual encounter.
I am specifically using the word homosexual because most of the people
under discussion do not consider themselves as gay.
Although the current word is that IV's and heterosex will begin making
up half of the HIV transmissions, ....
(1) Except in the biggest cities, this is only hearsay. I'm
speaking in Las Cruces NM, and I don't have reason yet to
buy that projection here.
(2) Although IV/hetero transmissions may going up, that doesn't
mean that homo transmissions have stopped! In fact, the
unfortunate impact of the 'current word' is that AIDS
educators in these parts are breathing a sigh of relief,
that they won't have to be discussing such nasty topics so
explicitly. This lecture is one of many lectures that make
up AIDS Awareness Week here at NMSU, and is the *only* one
that will have even a remotely gay theme. At that, I had to
fight tooth and nail to get it included.
(3) About blame.... *They* will blame us when they can, no matter
what. We can't let fear of that blame stop us from looking at
the truth. The usual cause of blame is that the first US AIDS
case was 'brought in' by a gay person. But there is every
reason to think that cases are being brought in every day by
persons entering this country who contracted the virus overseas
through Heterosex, Homosex, or IV use. Besides, the first case
in this country appears to have been a Canadian; no one is saying
nasty things about Canadians. If you have an axe to grind to
begin with, any stone can be your whetstone; if you don't, you
won't.
G a b r i e l
"Speak truth to power" -- Elie Wiesel